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09 June 2010

Berlin - Day 7

The Dutch Embassy by Rem Koolhaas.


The only art in the building that isn't Dutch are some original Andy Warhols.


The entire building is concrete, glass, stainless steel, aluminum, and zebra wood (read: expensive). Not sure that I like it too much but interesting none the less, and lots of nice details - the disappearing front door that could stop a surge of zombies, the conference room that is pure glass; including the floor; and cantilevers off the building (left side of the photo), and sound isolating zebra wood panels to name a few.


The GSW building. It was the first highrise built after the unification of East and West Berlin. The company that inhabits it controlled much of the Eastern Bloc's apartments, and they now rent out thousands of units. The firm that designed the building, Sauerbruch Hutton, actually resides there too.


Parking was tight to there's a system that treats parking like a tie rack. No people are involved and it takes 3-6 minutes to get your car. MINO (money is no object).


Thuy (pronounced toy) is beginning to hate me. She's a 4' nothing Vietnamese girl that can sketch like no ones business.


Shading system in the double facade of the GSW building. They're aluminum with holes in them so that you can see out. They work automatically but can also be used manually.



Here you can see through them.


This is the double facade with grating so that a stack effect can occur. The building operator says that a building of similar size uses about 40% more energy than this building. It's complicated but I'm not sure how much of it I buy - not that it's not an interesting and valid idea. They do decrease noise, increase winter insulation, provide opportunities for natural ventilation, give a space for shading, etc.



Jewish Museum Berlin by Daniel Liebeskind.



The beer here really is amazing. A .5 liter (about 17 ounces) is about 0.75-1.20 Euro.

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